*• European cities continue to dominate the top of the ranking
* • Vienna remains at the top, Baghdad at the bottom
* • Singapore ranks highest for city infrastructure, Port-au-Prince the lowest
* • Honolulu and San Francisco are the
top-ranked US cities for overall quality of living, but European cities
dominate the new city infrastructure ranking
Vienna retains the top spot as the
city with the world’s best quality of living, according to the Mercer
2012 Quality of Living Survey. Zurich and Auckland follow in second and
third place, respectively, and Munich is in fourth place, followed by
Vancouver, which ranked fifth. Düsseldorf dropped one spot to rank sixth
followed by Frankfurt in seventh, Geneva in eighth, Copenhagen in
ninth, and Bern and Sydney tied for tenth place, A survey by Mercer said.
In the United States, Honolulu (28) and San Francisco (29) are the
highest-ranking cities, followed by Boston (35). Chicago is ranked 42nd,
while Washington, DC, is ranked 43rd. Detroit (71) is the
lowest-ranking of the US cities that Mercer surveys.
Globally, the cities with the lowest quality of living are Khartoum,
Sudan (217); N’Djamena, Chad (218); Port-au-Prince, Haiti (219); and
Bangui, Central African Republic (220). Baghdad, Iraq (221) ranks last.
Mercer conducts this survey annually to help multinational companies
and other organizations compensate employees fairly when placing them on
international assignments. Mercer’s Quality of Living reports provide
valuable information and hardship premium recommendations for many
cities throughout the world. Mercer’s Quality of Living index list
covers 221 cities, ranked against New York as the base city.
This year’s ranking separately identifies the cities with the best
infrastructure based on electricity supply, water availability,
telephone and mail services, public transportation, traffic congestion
and the range of international flights from local airports. Singapore is
at the top of this index, followed by Frankfurt and Munich in second
place. Copenhagen (4) and Dusseldorf (5) fill the next two slots, while
Hong Kong and London share sixth place. Port-au-Prince (221) ranks at
the bottom of the list.
The highest-ranking US cities on the city infrastructure list are
Atlanta (13), Dallas (15), Washington, DC (22) and Chicago (28).
“In order for multinational companies to ensure their expatriates are
compensated appropriately and an adequate hardship allowance is
included in compensation packages, they must be aware of current events
and local circumstances,” said Slagin Parakatil, Senior Researcher at
Mercer. “Factors such as internal stability, law enforcement
effectiveness, crime levels and medical facilities are important to
consider when deciding on an international assignment, and the impact on
daily life that could be encountered by the expatriate in overseas
placements.”
Mr. Parakatil continued, “Infrastructure has a significant effect on
the quality of living that expatriates experience. While often taken for
granted when functioning to a high standard, a city’s infrastructure
can generate severe hardship when it is deficient. Companies need to
provide adequate allowances to compensate their international workers
for these and other hardships.”
Canadian cities still dominate the top of the index for this region,
with Vancouver (5) retaining the top regional spot, followed by Ottawa
(14), Toronto (15) and Montreal (23). Calgary ranks 32 on the overall
quality of living ranking. Overall, there was almost no movement in
rankings among Canadian cities from 2011 to 2012, with Calgary advancing
one position, Montreal retreating one position, and the other cities
remaining unchanged.
Honolulu (28) is the city in the United States with the highest
quality of living, followed by San Francisco (29) and Boston (35).
Chicago is at 42 and Washington, DC ranks 43. New York – the base city –
ranks 44. In Central and South America, Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe
ranks the highest for quality of living at 63. San Juan, Puerto Rico
follows at 72 and Montevideo, Uruguay at 77. Port-au-Prince, Haiti (219)
ranks lowest in the region.
Mr. Parakatil said, “Overall, there has been little change in the
rankings for North American cities. A number of South and Central
American countries have experienced positive change, essentially due to
some modest infrastructural and recreational improvement. Nevertheless,
political and security issues, along with natural disasters, continue to
hamper the quality of living in South and Central American cities. High
crime levels also remain a major problem.”
In terms of city infrastructure, Vancouver (9) tops the ranking for
the region with Atlanta and Montreal following at 13. Other Canadian
cities that ranked highly were Toronto (16) and Ottawa (25). In the
United States, Dallas ranked 15, followed by Washington, DC (22),
Chicago (28) and New York (30). Buenos Aires, Argentina (83) has the
best city infrastructure in Central and South America, whereas
Port-au-Prince is the lowest ranking at 221.
Europe
Europe has 15 cities among the world’s top 25 cities for quality of
living. Vienna retains the highest-ranking for both the region and
globally. The rest of the top 10 for Europe are dominated by German and
Swiss cities, with three cities each in the top 10. Zurich (2) is
followed by Munich (4), Düsseldorf (6), Frankfurt (7), Geneva (8),
Copenhagen (9) and Bern (10). The lowest-ranking Western European cities
are Athens (83) and Belfast (64).
Other European cities among the top 25 include Amsterdam (12), Berlin
(16), Hamburg (17), Luxembourg (19), Stockholm (19), Brussels (22)
Nürnberg (24) and Stuttgart (27). Paris ranks 29 and is followed by
Helsinki (32), Oslo (32) and London (38). Dublin dropped nine places
from last year to rank 35, mostly due to a combination of serious
flooding and an increase in crime rates. Lisbon ranks 44 followed by
Madrid (49) and Rome (52). Prague, Czech Republic (69) is the
highest-ranking Eastern European city followed by Budapest, Hungary
(74); Ljubljana, Slovenia (75); Vilnius, Lithuania (79); and Warsaw,
Poland (84). The lowest-ranking European city is Tbilisi, Georgia (213).
Overall, European cities continue to have high quality of living as a
result of a combination of increased stability, rising living standards
and advanced city infrastructures,” said Mr. Parakatil. “But economic
turmoil, political tension and high unemployment in some European
countries and high levels of unemployment have continued to be
problematic in the region.”
With six cities in the top 10, European cities also fare well in the
city infrastructure ranking. Frankfurt and Munich rank the highest at
second place, followed by Copenhagen (4) and Düsseldorf (5). London (6)
and Hamburg (9) are followed by Paris which ranks 12. Budapest (67) is
the highest-ranking for city infrastructure in Eastern Europe followed
by Vilnius (74) and Prague (75), whereas Yerevan (189) and Tbilisi (201)
rank lowest.
“Infrastructure in German and Danish cities is among the best in the
world, in part due to their first-class airport facilities,
international and local connectivity, and a high standard of public
services,” said Mr. Parakatil. “London’s high ranking in the
infrastructure index reflects a combination of high level of public
services offered, with its extensive public transportation system
including airports, the London Underground buses and railroad services.”
Asia-Pacific
Auckland (3) retains its position as the highest-ranking city for
quality of living in the region. Sydney follows at 10, Wellington at 13,
Melbourne at 17 and Perth at 21. Singapore remains the highest-ranking
Asian city at 25 followed by Japanese cities Tokyo (44), Kobe (48),
Yokohama (49) and Osaka (57). Hong Kong (70), Seoul (75), Kuala Lumpur
(80), Taipei (85) and Shanghai (95) are other major Asian cities ranked
in the top 100. The region’s lowest-ranking cities are Dhaka, Bangladesh
(203); Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (204); and Dushanbe, Tajikistan (207).
For city infrastructure, Singapore has the highest ranking worldwide
followed by Hong Kong (6), Sydney (8), Perth (25), Tokyo (32) and
Melbourne (34). Adelaide and Brisbane both ranked 37. Nagoya (41),
Auckland (43), Kobe (44), Wellington (48), Seoul (50) and Osaka (51) are
the next highest-ranking cities in this region. The region’s
lowest-ranking city for city infrastructure is Dhaka, Bangladesh (205).
“A noticeable gap can be seen among Asia Pacific cities where several
cities have improved in the region partly because they have been
investing massively in infrastructure and public services,” said Mr.
Parakatil. Competition among municipalities has been continuously
increasing in order to attract multinationals, foreigners, expatriates
and tourists. Yet a considerable number of Asian cities rank in the
bottom quartile, mainly due to high political volatility, poor
infrastructure and obsolete public services.”
Middle East and Africa
Dubai (73) and Abu Dhabi (78) in the United Arab Emirates are the
region’s cities with the best quality of living. Port Louis in Mauritius
(82), Cape Town (89) and Johannesburg (94) follow, and along with
Victoria in the Seychelles (96) and Tel Aviv (99), are the region’s only
other cities in the top 100. This region has 15 cities in the bottom
20, including Lagos, Nigeria (202); Bamako, Mali (209); Khartoum, Sudan
(217); and N’Djamena, Chad (218). Baghdad, Iraq (221) is the
lowest-ranking city both regionally and globally.
In the city infrastructure index, most of the region’s cities rank
below 100. The exceptions are Dubai (34), which ranks the highest in the
region for city infrastructure, Tel Aviv (58), Abu Dhabi (72), Port
Louis (91), Muscat (94), Cairo (95) and Cape Town (97). Port Louis,
Cairo and Cape Town are the only African cities in the top 100.
Elsewhere in the region, Doha, Qatar is at 102, Tunis, Tunisia, ranks
103 and Manama, Bahrain is at 110. In terms of city infrastructure,
Baghdad, Iraq (220) is the lowest-ranking city regionally, along with
Sana’a, Yemen (219); Brazzaville, Congo (218); Kigali, Rwanda (217); and
Abuja, Nigeria (215).
“The ongoing turmoil in many countries across North Africa and the
Middle East has led to serious security issues for locals and
expatriates,” said Mr. Parakatil. “Many countries continue to experience
violence through political demonstrations that have sometimes developed
into massive uprisings and led to serious instability within the
region. Countries such as Syria and Mali have seen their quality of
living levels drop substantially. Employers should continually monitor
the situation in these countries, as circumstances can degrade rapidly.
Companies need to be able to proactively implement mitigation plans,
such as emergency repatriation, or adjust expatriate compensation
packages accordingly.”
a giant central lagoon. The eruption was one of the largest in recorded
history and wiped out the island’s population at the height of the
Minoan civilization.